


The Split

by Wingzrooke



Series: Sirina Potter-Black: the Master of Death and Reincarnation chronicles [5]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Dark Mark is a slave Mark, Large Black Family, Necessary OCs, No beta we die like illiterates, Split Personalities, fem!Harry Potter - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:13:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24308008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wingzrooke/pseuds/Wingzrooke
Summary: A Fem!Harry Potter Story.Every person related closely enough to the Black Family gains the true Black Family gift: The Split. The Split originally started out as a curse, but thanks to the ingenuity of the Black Family, they've turned it into a Gift. What is the Split? It is an almost total separation of one's self into two personalities. One which is normal-ish, the other which is a sociopath. The normal side is used to anchor the sociopathic side, and to keep that side from killing or ruining anyone the normal side consider's important. The hard part is making sure no-one outside the family finds out about The Split.Sirina Potter-Black, in another of her reincarnations, has come back to the Wizarding World to live another lifetime as a Potter-Black. She doesn't realize at first what has changed about her self, but when she re-awakens she must quickly adapt to the changes and figure out how to live life with two people in her head.
Series: Sirina Potter-Black: the Master of Death and Reincarnation chronicles [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1136087
Comments: 12
Kudos: 211





	The Split

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: This story is a lot different from other works in this series. It can (somewhat) be read stand-alone.

* * *

* * *

Prologue:

A small infant with a wild thatch of dark hair and baby-blue eyes blearily blinked up at her new parents. Her small brain, not really developed enough to handle the thousands-of-years old consciousness it housed, struggled to figure out what had awoken her older self. Finding nothing of merit, the baby let her older consciousness slip back into slumber while the baby kept looking at her parents. Perhaps if the baby’s mind and body weren’t so tired and stressed from the birthing, her older self might have stayed awake a moment or two more. Then, perhaps, she might have realized that it was the manifestation of a new ‘gift’ which awoke her. Alas, her older self was asleep and her baby-self didn’t realize there was anything wrong with this new magical gift. If her older self had been more aware, she may have been able to reject the gift from her body and magic before it became permanent. But she was not, and so she did not.

“James, did her eyes just change color? Babies eyes aren’t supposed to change until about 6 months after birth…” The new mother worried. James peered down over his wife’s shoulder at their baby girl, and smiled secretively at the sight of steely grey eyes looking back at him. He was ecstatic to see his sweet baby had inherited _The Split_. And for it to manifest so young…. without even a trigger! His little princess was going to be a magical powerhouse.

“Don’t worry, Lilly. It’s a Black Family Gift. Metamorphmagus, it’s called. She’s just a baby, so they’ll probably change back in a moment…ah, and there they go, baby-blue once more. I bet when her eyes really change their permanent color, she’ll get your green. Metamorphs’ eyes tend to settle in strange and unusual colors in their true form.” James told his wife with a smile, and feeling only mildly guilty for lying to her. In his eyes, their baby deserved the best, and he’d seen how well Lilly dealt with his own mild helping of ‘the Black Gift’. Since James was standing behind Lilly and she couldn’t see him, James let his own eyes slip into their silver hue. It was important, after all, to let his other half acknowledge this was their child.

_“Our child is powerful, to manifest The Split so early.”_ The other half of James’ self, the one that called itself Prongs, remarked interestedly. James preened slightly at the compliment to their child, as did Prongs. Prongs, currently the one in charge of their body, looked up and met Sirius’ silver eyes. Unlike with James and Prongs, Sirius had depended on his other half nearly every moment of his formative years, so it was the dominant personality. As his almost-always Silver-grey eyes showed. Padfoot only really developed as a person once he met James.

Sirius winked at James while Lilly’s gaze was on baby Sirina, and Prongs sent a razor-sharp grin back. _“She’s one of us, Prongs. James.”_ Sirius seemed to say, and James nodded proudly as any papa could.

“I didn’t know you were actually related to Sirius, James.” Lilly commented as she fussed the baby into their first feeding time.

“Mmmm, yeah. We don’t talk about it much, because it was a bit of a scandal, but my mum was actually born a black. She was cousins with both of Sirius’ parents.” James replied as he took back over, eyes turning brown once more just in time for Lilly to look up at him. Interested but tired, Lilly asked a few more questions before handing Sirius his new Goddaughter and falling asleep. As soon as they were certain she was all the way asleep, Sirius cast a deep-sleep spell on her and James cast a silencing ward around her bed. The two moved over to the hospital room’s window and drew a privacy ward around themselves and the baby.

“Are you really not going to tell her?” Padfoot worried, for once he was in-control of his body, and he was feeling very paternal about his new godchild. Prongs snorted at his friend’s more sensitive side. He knew Sirius understood.

“She wouldn’t understand. After all, she met Prongs and Sirius in Hogwarts and didn’t care for that side of us. People who don’t have _The Gift_ just don’t understand. Narcissa got lucky with Lucius in that department. Not in most others, he’s an idiot if he thinks serving _that tosser_ is the safe option, but he’s oddly accepting of The Split for an outsider.” James remarked with a sigh. Sirius shook his head and then looked down at his goddaughter once more. It only took a moment of their eyes meeting before Baby Sirina’s eyes changed color to match Sirius’.

“You’ll have to learn quickly, little one.” Sirius informed the bearer of the tiny orbs. “Good thing you have your other half to help out.” He added with a sharp smile. The little baby smiled back, copying her godfather and father’s knife-sharp smile. James chuckled at the adorable sight the two conspiring Blacks made.

“We’ll have to give her the Metamorphmagus gift, since that’s what you told Lilly it was.” Sirius remarked faux-casually. “How do you plan on doing the ritual without Lilly catching on? Especially since you’re about to be confined to a tiny little cottage just the three of you. And where will you get a fae-child to sacrifice?” Sirius added wickedly. James winced. Prongs took over to reply, since they both knew Prongs would have to be the one to sacrifice the fae child in the dark ritual. James just didn’t have the stomach for it. Or the willingness.

“I was hoping you, as her Godfather, would be willing to track down and capture a faeling or a changeling. If you let me know once one is captured, we can set a date. I’ll make sure Lilly is potioned and spelled asleep until two days later. That should give the changes time to settle. We can do the ritual in the nursery, and use the nursery rug to cover it up.” Prongs replied immediately. Sirius grumbled at Prongs and James making Sirius do the hard work, but it was mostly for show.

“ ‘spose if I can’t find one, I can always ask ‘Dromeda for tips. She used the ritual to disguise little Nymphy’s Split from her muggleborn husband, after all.” Sirius eventually agreed, and there was a moment of silence.

“I wonder which side will end up being Sirina?” James wondered thoughtfully.

“With parents like you? It’ll definitely be her more ‘normal’ side.” Padfoot replied affectionately, his eyes a slate-grey as opposed to the silver-grey of Sirius.

“And if we die, leaving only you, or merlin forbid all three of us die?” Prongs demanded sharply, his analytical and almost sociopathic mind clicking quickly away.

“That’s why you’re going into hiding, remember? To make sure you’re around for the tiny tot. But if none of us can raise the child, there’s still the Longbottoms. Alice is Sirina’s godmother, is she not?” Padfoot pointed out soothingly. Prongs grumbled, unconvinced, but let the matter drop. Padfoot, though, was still thinking of their goddaughter’s best interests.

“Just to be safe, though, we should probably start training both of her halves as soon as you and Lilly are safely tucked away. Her shadow split should learn as fast as a child many times her actual age, just like the rest of us. Her more “normal” split should be safe enough developing at the rate of a normal child.” Padfoot suggested. James and Padfoot tilted their head, one eye silvery and one eye brown. They thought over the idea, then nodded.

“Better safe than sorry, and it can only help her to get an early start.” Prongs approved. As the baby fell asleep and Lilly slept on, the two men formulated a plan to train up their baby.

* * *

* * *

Chapter 1:

_ FIVE YEARS LATER _

Sirina “Ri” Potter observed their ‘family’ through the slats of the grate in her cupboard door. It had taken her the better part of four years, but they were ready. Her Shadow Split side was the one currently in control. She frowned, momentarily sidetracked by her ‘normal’ sides’ irritation at not having a proper name to distinguish them yet. She refused to take any of the monikers her so-called ‘family’ had given her. Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley had bestowed on her the names ‘Freak’, ‘girl’, ‘Demon-child’, ‘free-loader’, and ‘worthless’ respectively. She refused to take any of them, though her Shadow Split side was amused at the idea of being called Demon. Ri – they’d already agreed the more ‘normal’ side should go by ‘Ri’ or ‘Sirina’ – refused to let any side of herself go by a non-feminine name.

With a mental grumble, the Shadow side yanked her attention back to the matter at hand. She’d finally put her plan into motion. She’d cooked dinners main course all on her own for the fiftieth time tonight, despite being only five years old. It had only taken her that long because they’d only just stopped making her eat a bite of whatever she cooked a day or two ago. As her eager silver eyes watched, Dudley suddenly started to scream and clutch at his throat. Then foam began to drip from his mouth, flecks and streams of blood dotting the foam. Vernon, turning purple, immediately strode over to the cupboard to grab Ri out of the cupboard. Petunia, meanwhile, went straight to the phone to call poison control and an ambulance.

Ri’s shadow-side put on a convincing façade of a helpless five year old, shaking in terror. In truth, Ri’s Shadow Split was grinning viciously and victoriously on the inside. _“Take that, you overweight, abusive hippo, giraffe, and pig!”_ She thought silently. _“For once you’ll actually be completely normal, just like you always wanted. Normal for someone who died of poison, anyways.”_ She added silently with an equally silent snicker. Vernon dragged them from the cupboard, and they cried out as her head bashed against the cupboard. Her pleas fell on deaf ears, however, as Vernon switched between her arm and her throat. He flung her up against the wall beside the cupboard, using the hand around her neck to pin her.

**_“What did you do to our Dudley, Freak?!”_** He demanded, and the Shadow Split began to cry convincingly as she could.

“I d…d…didn’t do any…thing.” She stuttered and gasped past his meaty hand. Her uncle shook her again, growling.

“Obviously you did…!” He started to scream, but then he started to convulse, his spasming hand releasing Ri to land on her feet. She did, feeling a minor jolt in her legs as she hit the ground. Vernon fell to the ground, screaming and foaming, and Ri noticed absently that Petunia was already on the ground in the background. The phone she’d been on was dangling by its cord, hanging limply against the wall. Someone on the other end of the phone was shouting for Petunia, but Ri couldn’t make out more than her aunt’s name.

Dizzyness overtook them, and Ri felt something drip down onto her face. They reached up and swiped at the moisture with their hand before bringing it down to inspect. With a feeling of worry, Ri found blood on her fingers. Her eyes were blurring too, which meant she’d probably already lost a lot more blood than she’d realized. Darkness started to close in, and they thought they might actually die. Ironic, they’d been free of the Dursleys for only a few small moments, and already their freedom would be ended. Not by the Dursleys, because Ri had put Ricin and rat poison in with as many other poisonous ingredients as she could into her deadly cocktail inside tonight’s dinner. She almost wished luck to any responding paramedics or doctors that might try to treat the Dursleys, assuming the three were still alive when help arrived.

No, Ri feared death would take her freedom from her. She wasn’t looking forward to finding out if the ‘Judgement Day’ the Dursley’s were always on about was real. She doubted it was, but she wasn’t keen to be proven wrong, either. Fortunately for them, death and near-death experiences (even if it was only in her mind), triggered the awakening of her older self. Sirina “Ri” Potter-Black-Uzumaki, the older self that had lived for thousands of years through all sorts of problems, woke. Casually she directed some of her chakra and magic to healing the wounds on her head and throat, plus the burns on her hands and arms, the lash-marks on her back, and three broken toes.

None of that phased her. She’d awoken to much worse, like the many, _many_ times villagers of Konoha had attempted to kill ‘The Demon Brat’. She’d also awoken to many similar injuries in the lifetimes where she was Ri Potter-Black, forced slave of the Dursleys. What did shock her, however, was finding she had a Split-personality now. At least partially. She still seemed to be in control of the sociopath-half. It was more like there was a switch in her head that she could flip at will. Once flipped to what her father and godfather call the ‘Shadow Split’, she became almost totally a sociopath. From her memories of her father and godfather, it seemed that there were a very few people that were still near and dear to her when her ‘Shadow Split’ was in charge. Strangely, her mother Lilly of this life didn’t seem to have made that list.

Her older self merged with her more ‘normal’ side, the one that went by Ri like her older self did. Helpfully her Shadow side showed Ri memories of them being trained to hide their Shadow Split side from Lilly Potter. They also showed memories of how negatively Lilly had reacted whenever they slipped and let their Shadow Side show. Ri winced at the memory of a particularly bad incident, which Prongs and Sirius had obliviated from Lilly’s mind. Then her other half helpfully showed the terrible memories of life at number four Privet Drive, Little Whinging for the last four and a half years. Ri winced. It looked like life at the Dursley’s this time around was even worse than usual.

With a bit of a sigh, Ri provided her other half with memories and instruction on how to multiply toxins, poisons, and damage in a body with cloud flames. Her other half gleefully used their cloud and mist flames to do that, and drastically speed up the timeframe of the poisonings. Almost instantly Vernon and Petunia died. The Shadow Split further sped up the decomposition of the bodies until they was only moldy dirt remaining. Then she further set the three piles on fire with Sky flames, inverted so that instead of binding everything together with Harmony, the flames broke the Harmony and made everything down to the smallest molecule fly apart. There were perks to being the strongest Sky flame she’d ever heard of or come across. The ability to turn her Sky flame into it’s opposite and back was one of them. Ri had to admit, she was rather impressed by the speed at which her Shadow side learned.

_“So someone can’t be important or completely valuable to my Shadow Split side unless they accept all of us.”_ Ri mused thoughtfully, ignoring the vanishing of her former relatives. _“We can’t keep calling you Shadow Split or Shadow Split side forever.”_ Ri mused even as she bent light, magic, and chakra around herself to turn invisible. Then she simply walked out the back door. Now fully healed and able to once more access and use all the gifts, talents, training, and mutations of her former life – Ri took to the rooftops in a chakra-fueled leap. Quickly she hopped across the rooftops of Little Whinging, through the rest of Surrey, and on into London. Curiously, their Shadow side poked at Ri’s consciousness to see what she was planning. That same half grinned fiercely when it found out.

_“You’re almost a Shadow Split all on your own.”_ She remarked approvingly to Ri. Ri grimaced.

_“Thanks, I think.”_ Ri thought back and her Shadow side. It took less than ten minutes for Ri to go from number four private drive to London’s biggest library. Once inside, she made her silent and invisible way to the information computer. A few moments and she knew where to go. Hidden deep inside the shelves, Ri settled down on the floor with baby name books scattered on the floor around her. She already had her excuse worked out if someone stumbled upon her, although the notice-me-not and muggle-repelling wards should keep them away. Not to mention she was still invisible.

“Right, so Dad and Sirius used the names Prongs and Padfoot for their alter-egos….” Ri mumbled to themself.

_“Technically, Dad used the name Prongs for his Shadow Split, while our godfather used Sirius to refer to his Shadow Split. James and Padfoot were the names used to refer to the ‘normal’ split.”_ Her own Shadow Split pointed out helpfully. Ri shrugged.

“You’d be the ones with the memory to know. The point, however, is that I’ve never completed the animagus transformation, so I don’t have another form with a handy nickname we can use, and I refuse to wait any longer to give you a name.” Ri powered on. She felt the Shadow side shrug in their mind. “I was named after Sirius, so we could use his animagus form to name you, but the only thing I can think of off the top of my head is ‘Grimmette’, and that’s just terrible.” She sighed. “So that’s out. Baby name books it will have to be.” Ri sighed, and cracked open the first book. Meanwhile her Shadow Split rummaged through Ri’s many lifetimes looking to see if there was a suitable name.

_“I could go by Sally, you know, like Salazar Slytherin.”_ Shadow-her remarked idly. Ri grimaced but mentally tacked the name to the beginning of her list. _“Or we could go with a star-name, since The Split is a Black Family Gift, and naming their children after stars is a Black Family Tradition.”_ The Shadow Split remarked slyly. _“We won’t choose Bellatrix, of course, because of it’s history. Pheonix is likewise out, despite how apt it is. Aurora is a good name, but it’s the roman goddess of the sunrise and I’m supposed to be dark and shadowy, so that one’s out too…Despoina isn’t terrible, she’s an early version of Persephone. Not quite right, though.”_ Her Shadow-self mused. Ri put down the book she’d been idly thumbing through and picked up the constellation names book. She looked through it for a few moments, her other half still ignoring the outside world in favor of looking at memories. Suddenly, Ri saw it.

“I’ve found it!” She whisper-shouted, and her Shadow half immediately turned her attention to what Ri was looking at, and Ri’s thoughts. Ri said them aloud anyways, because a conversation is always better when one gets to say what they are thinking, not have the other pluck the thoughts from your mind.

“Pandora, the heavily-cratered moon of Saturn. Also the woman in Greek mythology who let all types of evil and misery out on the world. But she kept hope inside. Sort of like you, she was originally intended as a curse. Like our Family turned The Split into a blessing, her husband saw her as a blessing. Both of you turn the misery upon others and the outside world. And you protect us and Our Own, giving us hope. Or in other words, keeping hope inside.” Ri proclaimed quietly. Her other half shrugged pragmatically.

_“It works. I will use it.”_ Her Shadow Split replied tonelessly. _“At least until we find something we like more.”_ She added thoughtfully.

“Good luck with that.” Ri replied with a roll of her eyes. Quickly Ri gathered up the books and dropped them on a nearby sorting and re-shelving cart, despite Pandora’s urging to just leave the books where they were. Then walked over to where the computers for patrons were. Ri didn’t want to waste time trying to figure out how to get access to both the computers and the internet, so she used her mist flames to make the system think she’d logged in as an administrator. Next she created a link between her mind and the computer with the same flames, to make searching easier. Finally ready, Ri attempted to access the online ‘dark web’ that would tell her if the Mafia and Flame users existed on this world. To her sorrow, they did not. She felt like kicking something.

Another lifetime without so much as one guardian. This was going to be terrible. It also meant one less resource to help take care of her. No guardians and no Flame Mafia meant she couldn’t go to them as a four year old child and reasonably expect them to treat her well (or not sell her into slavery, or something). With a huff, Ri crossed her arms and pouted fiercely. That meant she had to do something she really didn’t want to do. Naturally, she was going to put it off for as long as she could.

“Why put it off, when that is what you have me for?” Pandora pointed out reasonably as she took over the ‘drivers seat’ of their body. Ri, curious to see what her Shadow side would do, moved aside easily. Pandora stood up, still wrapped in the invisibility, and made their way to the leaky cauldron. Silently she slipped through, walking up the wall and across the ceiling rather than try to slip through the masses below without someone noticing that an invisible person was moving through. A _tiny_ invisible person. In short order Ri was inside Gringotts. Using her mist flames, Pandora made them invisible to everyone except the goblins. Then she released the other means of invisibility. Quietly she approached one of the guards waiting off to the side.

“Excuse me, but who do I talk to about getting access to my account? I’m an heiress, but I was never given my key. My current guardians are dead, and I would like to see who my parents wanted me placed with, if they kept a will or list with Gringotts. I also need to see a list of properties I’m allowed to live at, before coming of age.” Pandora informed the Goblin Guard. The Guard lifted up his spear and then brought the copper-covered butt end of the stick crash down into the ground three times. Immediately one of the smaller, skinnier Goblin runners skidded over to the guard’s side. A quick discussion in Gobbledygook followed, and then the runner bade ‘the potential customer’ to follow him.

One maze of twisting, maze-like magical corridors later, and they were led into a lavish office. The runner bade them sit on a plush red chair in front of the desk. Moments later a stocky, muscly Goblin with close-cut white hair and spectacles perched on the end of his rather long nose took the more austere chair behind the desk. Ri noted silently that even for a Goblin, this one had a very no-nonsense, ‘don’t waste my time’ sort of vibe to him.

“So, you claim to be an heiress in need of her key, ring, and other information?” The Goblin harrumphed. “Very well. The inheritance test is free, though if you are lying and trying to claim a specific family, you will be caught and appropriately punished. Do you wish to take the test anyways?” He – she was relatively certain it was a male, anyways – reeled off quickly.

“Yes. However, I have a question. I inherited the Black Family Gift, so am not certain if I will register as one person or two on your tests. Should we have both sides take the test individually, or does it matter which of us takes the test?” Pandora inquired quickly. The Goblin grinned at her, but it looked more like a fierce bearing of teeth.

“The personality that bears the name of the heiress must take the test.” The Goblin replied. They sighed, closed their eyes, and traded places. Sirina slid into the forefront and control while Pandora slipped to the back and watching in interest.

“Very well, I am ready.” Ri stated. The Goblin nodded shortly. Then he handed her a dagger and indicated the parchment on his desk. The parchment looked like a sort of fill-in-the-blank, as it had labels and underlines with nothing on top.

“Three drops of blood on the specially-treated inheritance form. Make sure those three drops are infused with your magic, if you know how. Otherwise tell me and we’ll withdraw some of your magic from you separately.” The Goblin instructed. Ri smiled absently at him as she concentrated.

“I know how.” She assured the Goblin while she made the cut. After exactly three drops fell, a further four drops splashing harmlessly onto a blue dome made by magic to stop too many drops from falling. Ri saw her magic and blood soak into the parchment, much like how ink soaked into the riddle diary.

 _“I wonder if that’s where he got the idea…?”_ Ri wondered absently. Then the form started filling itself in, the ink the words appeared in blood-red. Interested to see what it said, she read it upside-down from her seat.

> **Sirina Potter-Black-Uzumaki**
> 
> _Master of Death_
> 
> _Conqueror of Lord Voldemort, Lord of Slytherin House_
> 
> _Lady Potter-Black-Uzumaki_
> 
> _Head of houses Potter, and Uzumaki._
> 
> _Eligible to become Head of House Black, currently an heir of House Black._
> 
> _Magically mature, recognized by Gringotts as an adult_
> 
> _Bearer of two other personalities._

The last two lines on the paper made her jaw drop. She’d expected the physical age and house lines to show up, granted she hadn’t expected it to show she was already the Head of two Families. Especially since the Uzumaki Clan definitely didn’t exist in her current world. She had been through this test several times in other lifetimes and realities, but the manner of testing and what it revealed was always different from any other time.

“Magically mature, huh? Well, that changes things a bit.” The white-haired Goblin mumbled to himself. He ran one claw over a rune on his desk, and the runner from before stepped back into the room.

“Fetch me everything for the new Family Head for the Potter, Black, Uzumaki, and Slytherin Families.” The Goblin behind the desk barked at the runner, who made good on his name and ran from the room as quickly as his lithe little legs could carry him. All three of the rooms occupants, well, four if the test was right and Ri had yet another personality in her head, waited silently. About fifteen minutes later the runner returned carrying a large stack of documents as tall as he was, and with another Goblin runner pulling a cart behind them. The cart was also full of documents. Once inside the room, the runner placed the stack he was carrying into two piles on the desk, and then left the room. The second Goblin left the cart next to the desk and took a seat on a chair that appeared behind the cart.

“Where are the other three Account Managers?!” The white-haired Goblin snarled.

“Apparently the Potter Family Account Manager died about two years ago. Since the accounts were inactive, no new Account Manager was assigned. The Account Manager for Slytherin was killed by the last Head of House/Family for Slytherin and was not replaced as protest. We can find no record of the Uzumaki family, but the archives are still searching.” The new Goblin replied stoically.

“Ah, that’s alright. There likely isn’t an account for the Uzumaki Clan at Gringotts.” Ri hurriedly reassured the two males. The new Goblin sniffed, as though he didn’t think much of a family that didn’t bank with Gringotts.

“Very well. Lady Potter-Black-Uzumaki, this is IronSplitHammer, Account Manager for the Black Family Accounts.” The first Goblin introduced quickly. “We might as well start with the Black Family, since they already have an account manager.” He added wryly. “Do you, Sirina Potter-Black-Uzumaki, wish to accept the Headship of House and Family Black, accepting that there are currently no other heirs able to inherit?” The white-haired Goblin male intoned ritualistically.

“I do.” Ri agreed.

“Then slip on this ring, and let the Family Magics assess whether ye be worthy. If the ring accept ye, ye are the Head of House and Family Black.” IronSplitHammer intoned. As she’d done this several times before, Ri wasn’t worried about this part. She’d never been rejected by the Black Family Magics before, and in this lifetime she’d already inherited two of the family Gifts. Sure enough, as soon as the ring was slipped on her finger it aligned with her core, resized, and settled. Both Goblins nodded sharply. The ring for House Potter was next, and then they repeated the ritual for house Slytherin. Ri paused for a moment, debating what she wanted to do.

“Just a moment. I need to discuss with my alter before we make a decision on House Slytherin.” Ri informed the irritated Goblins. Then she sank into her mindscape. Pandora watched how Ri performed that feat, and did likewise. Ri was surprised to note that in the mindscape Pandora looked almost exactly like a young, beautiful, female version of Sirius. Right down to the long hair and Silver eyes. Pandora wore a formal dress-robe, with Indigo under-dress and black outer-robe. She also wore dragon-hide stiletto boots, with a violet belt to tie the ensemble together. Little tiny pins of orange sphalerite stones formed into tiny flowers pinned into her hair starting at her temples and moving towards the back. Seeing Pandora’s reflection of self made Ri curious to see what she looked like here.

Conjuring up a mirror with a thought, Ri saw she looked somewhat like a cross between a Black, a Potter, and an Uzumaki. Her hair was jet-black, and was up in two twin ponytails on either side of her head. Her eyes were emerald green like her mother, and her body adult-sized. Her form was that of her Kunoichi self. She was even wearing her Head of the Uzumaki Clan outfit.

She had on a short summer yukata, white with orange flower petals dancing in an invisible breeze from her left shoulder to right hip, and orange flames decorating the bottom hem. There was also a purple under garment showing at neck, sleeves, and bottom paired with an indigo obi sash. The Yukata stopped at her knees, and had three-quarter length sleeves. Beneath the yukata she wore black three-quarter length shinobi pants, taped at the bottom like most shinobi pants and tucked into the top of her shinobi boots/sandles. There was also a mesh armor undershirt in black, which ended where the yukatas sleeves did, but was skin-tight.

“What did you need? You already know I think we should claim Slytherin House, Family, and anything else of the Dark Tosser’s that we can.” Pandora remarked, interrupting Ri’s self-inspection.

“I’ve been thinking about the whole three-personalities thing that showed up on the heritage test.” Ri began hesitantly. “And I think the third personality we didn’t know about is the shard of Old Moldyface in my forehead.” She added grumpily. “Now normally I have to either die and take the horcrux with me, or go through some long-drawn-out ritual, or have my guardians burn it out of me. But with two of us here, I figured we might be able to sort of…burn out the personality and keep the gifts and memories for our own use. Two against one, right? What do you think? Worth a try?” Ri suggested.

“Yes. Let’s do that now.” Pandora agreed immediately. Ri nodded fiercely and then with a thought engaged all the protections on their mindscape and memory palace.

“He’s just an accidental shard, so it shouldn’t be as hard as defeating the main piece. Or even one of the regular horcruxes.” Ri mused. Then Ri combined her flames and will with Pandora. They both reached out and _pulled_ the sliver of Tom Marvolo Riddle/Lord Voldemort to the space between them. He arrived, and later on they wouldn’t be able to say exactly what happened. He did, of course, try to take over the body now that he was past the protections Their Mother’s Sacrifice (always capitalized in Ri’s thoughts) provided. Both Ri and Pandora did, of course, combine their efforts against him. And Tom Marvolo Riddle, AKA Lord Voldemort (or at least this sliver of him) was ‘burned out’. Essentially there was no more soul to him. They killed the person and claimed his talents, magic, and memory for their own. The details, however, came down to a contest of wills between them and him. It included scaring mental battles fought with impossible creatures, weapons, and spells. In the end, though, the girls triumphed and that was all that mattered.

Ri’s eyes gleamed as she thought _“And this time I’ll get to **keep** the Parseltongue ability.”_ Though the fight had seemed to take forever to both Ri and Pandora, in reality it took only seconds in the real world. Ri opened her eyes once more.

“I am ready to proceed.” Ri informed the Goblins gravely. The process of becoming Head of the House and Family of Slytherin was a little different, since she was becoming the Head due to conquering the last Head of the Family. Leaving no viable heirs. In the end, the biggest difference was she had to draw on her magic and intone and oath sealed with her magic, while standing in a specialized ritual ring.

“I, Sirina ‘Ri’ Potter-Black-Uzumaki, do hereby claim by right of conquest everything that is, was, or will belong to Tom Marvolo Riddle, also known as Lord Slytherin, also known as the Head of Slytherin House and Family, also known as Lord Voldemort.” Ri claimed by magic. There was a great thunderclap of sound, one of the marks of a successful _Right of Conquest_ ritual. Before her, on the desk next to the paperwork, appeared the remainder of the Horcruxes, with soul shards intact. Ri flung out a hand as soon as the Horcruxes appeared, and a seal flung from her hand to another spot on the floor. With her magic she tossed the Horcruxes into the seal, and activated the seal with her chakra. Each of the Horcruxes separated into a separate tiny seal which orbited the main seal. A moment later there was another thunderclap and the wraith of Lord Voldemort, the main soul piece, currently inhabiting a rabbit, appeared inside the middle of the largest seal.

Ri summoned Death’s Servants. Twelve Shinigami, twelve Reapers, twelve Hellhounds, and thirteen Grimm appeared around the circle. They broke into groups, with each group scooping a soul shard or main soul piece. A Reaper would carry the shard or piece in question, surrounded by the rest of the Shinigami and/or Reapers in their group which were in turn surrounded by the Hellhounds and Grimms assigned to their group. As one they all bowed to Ri and then departed with the soul pieces into the betwixt, heading for the Place of Judgement. The seals flashed once and then disappeared as well. For a moment there was a stunned silence, then Ri felt a large momentary drain on her magic.

“Oh.” She murmured, and quickly moved back over to the red plushy chair. Once there, she sank into it, as she was feeling a little faint.

“What is the problem, Lady Potter-Black-Uzumaki-Slytherin?” The white-haired Goblin, whose name she _still_ didn’t know, demanded sharply. “Are you unwell?” He added. Ri shook her head slightly.

“No. I will be fine in a moment. Apparently all of Voldemort’s, excuse me, Lord Slytherin’s followers took not only vassalage oaths, but willingly accepted magical slave-marks as well. I knew he could communicate with them through the Dark Mark, of course, but I wasn’t aware it was an actual _binding_ Slave Mark.” She informed them weakly. Inside their head, Pandora was doing a little victory dance. Ri was decidedly more on the fence about it. She knew, though, that there was no way to release the marks. Tom’s memories told her he’d designed it that way on purpose.

“Interesting.” The white-haired Goblin muttered, before shuffling through the papers on his desk. He quickly withdrew what looked like a list of assets and marked down an unknown quantity of slaves on the list. Ri chose not to tell him how many there actually were. It was bad enough she actually had slaves. Listing them as property made it, somehow, seem even worse. After all, she hadn’t intended to … _inherit_ … a bunch of slaves. Putting their numbers down was a decision, though.

“Now that you have all the available rings…” the lead goblin began, and Ri looked down at the rings on her right hand ring and thumb, as well as her left hand thumb. “You are officially the head of Four Houses by Gringotts and Wizarding Law. You are also considered and adult under Gringotts law, due to the maturity of your magic. Do you wish to have new Account Managers for the accounts that do not currently have one, or do you wish to combine the finances, properties, and assets into one house?”

“I want an account manager for each account, as I would like to provide at least three of my children with a House and Family to inherit. I intend to have a vey large family.” Ri decided, and Pandora nodded approvingly. Best not to keep all her eggs in one basket, they thought. The Inheritence Goblin nodded.

“Very well. The portfolios and recommendations for possible Account Managers will be given to you. Do you have any specific requests in regards to possible Managers?”

“I don’t want someone who handles anyone else’s accounts. Even if that means promoting someone new. I fear there may be a conflict of interest with other parties someday, otherwise. I would place neither myself nor Gringotts in that position if it can be avoided entirely.” Ri replied dryly.

“Very well. Now, we will owl the candidate files to you once compiled. In the meantime, IronSplitHammer here is ready to meet with you to go over House and Family Black matters, as pertains to Gringotts.” The first Goblin informed her dismissively. With a polite nod, Ri followed IronSplitHammer over to a little table off to the side. They settled down together and went over everything.

By the time they were done, Ri’s head was spinning and she felt rather wrung out. To her dismay, none of her properties were both in good or even fair condition and available to live in. Some of her properties were in good condition, but were being rented out. Black Castle wouldn’t recognize her until forty-eight hours after claiming the Headship, either. In the back of their shared mindspace, Pandora brought the link to the Slave Marks to Ri’s attention. Speculatively Pandora stroked a hand along the main link of braided stands of link. Distantly she felt many people shuddering at the attention. Then Pandora reminded Ri of something.

“Excuse me, sirs, but how do I set up everything so that my other personality can also access things and make decisions, should I be indisposed?” she wondered. It took a bunch more paperwork and some more blood-letting, but eventually she was finished for the day. Pandora took over, Ri being too tired to deal with anything further. Pandora straightened and marched down the alley. Of course no one could see her, even in the Wizarding World people worried about five year olds running unaccompanied. Except the Goblins, who only cared about Wizards and Witches in as far as their banking and assets went. Eventually she came to Nocturne Alley, and then turned onto Black Way. There she stepped into ‘Basic Black’, a clothing shop and tailor.

The man behind the counter looked up when she entered, the door’s ward no doubt alerting him, and his face stayed in a blank mask as he surveyed her. Ri knew what she looked like on the outside: oversized, overly worn, gigantic muggle clothes she could swim in. A small, underfed, poor, dirty little child and with no parent. No doubt he thought she was foolish enough to try to trick, swindle, or steal from the establishment. Like any good employee of a Black Business, however, he made no rude remarks or anything of the sort.

“May I help you?” He asked neutrally.

“You may. I am the new Head of the Black Family.” Pandora announced, raising her hand so he could see the ring for himself. She saw him jump as the spot of Primary Ward Holder switched from him to her. He came forward and knelt down to inspect the ring, though Ri knew he knew she was the real deal simply because the Black Family Magic and Black Family Wards recognized her as the new Head of the Family. “I was forced into wearing these abominable rags,” she continued grimly as he sent a tiny strand of his magic to the ring and received the correct reply. He kissed her ring, acknowledging her as the new Head of the Family. “And am in need of a proper wardrobe, as well as several specialty items.” She instructed.

“Of course, My Lady Black.” The man agreed immediately. “Let me summon the tailors we have available. They’re off-shift for the night, so it may take a moment for them to Floo or apparate in.” He warned. Pandora waved dismissively.

“Very well, but I require something basic in the meantime. I want _out_ of these clothes and into something at least respectable.” She sniffed. Pandora was having maybe a little too much fun, Ri thought.

“Of course, My Lady. We have a couple of Hogwarts Student Robes for members of the Black Family and their allies. I could shrink those to size, if you approve?” He offered. Pandora nodded regally and the man disappeared into the back of the shop. Shortly he reappeared with a small first-year robe, and gestured Pandora into one of the changing stalls. Pandora quickly switched into the new clothes, wishing she’d thought to ask if he had any basic underwear in stock. With a sigh, she decided to just ignore that and quickly finished up. Once done, she handed the bundle of old clothes to the man.

“Burn that.” Pandora instructed. He bowed, then tossed the clothes into a waste basket and set the whole lot on fire with his wand. Thankfully it was a smokeless, fume-less fire.

“I know you aren’t a restaurant, but I haven’t eaten since yesterday. Do you, perchance, have something to tide me over until I can get my dinner?” Pandora wondered.

“I can do even better than that. I have direct access to the Black Family Kitchens, as do all Black Businesses.” The man informed her with a worried frown. “Tillsy.” He called, and with a snap a young female elf in a nice crisp, clean black and white uniform dress appeared.

“Master Black calls for Tillsy?” the young elf asked quietly.

“Yes, Lady Black here, the new Head of the Family and House, requires a meal. She apparently has not eaten since yesterday.” The man informed the elf gravely. The elf gasped in horror.

“A Black going withouts? And Head of House & Family as well? Tillsy and Kitchen elfses bring best banquet for Lady Black! And fetch the personal elfses that are not yet assigned so Lady Black can choose and elfses and then elfses can make sure Lady Black never goes without again!” Tilly declared fiercely before disappearing with a loud crack. Internally, Ri winced. Pandora just grinned at the other man.

“I love House Elves.” She informed him cheerfully. “Ah, I do apologize, but I didn’t introduce myself fully earlier, or get your name.”  Pandora murmured bashfully. The man bowed again.

“No trouble at all, my lady. My name is Mercury Black, in charge of ‘Basic Black’ on weekdays and helping in the library on weekends.” He introduced with another bow over her hand. He even kissed the back of her hand, which made Ri giggle in their mind. Pandora allowed the sound out through their mouth, knowing it would reinforce the idea of ‘cute, innocent little girl’. Mercury smiled at her, grey eyes meeting her Silver ones, and both girls knew Mercury saw Pandora for the Shadow Split she was.

“My formal name is Lady Pandora Potter-Black-Uzumaki-Slytherin, Shadow Split as you guessed. My main is Lady Sirina ‘Ri’ Potter-Black-Uzumaki-Slytherin.” Pandora introduced, and then curtseyed. Before either of them could say or do anything else, a large table, chairs, and a feast appeared beside them. Mercury pulled out a chair for the Head of his Family, and gently pushed it in for her once she sat. Then he sat down on her left side and kept her company.

To both Pandora and Ri’s sadness they couldn’t eat nearly as much as they wanted, due to long-term starvation. They made their best attempt, though. Pandora was sitting at the table, sipping a hot chocolate when several people made their way from the back rooms to the front of the store. Pandora waved them to seats. As the tailors were settling in, the food disappeared from the table. In its place, paper, quills, and ink wells appeared. As she conversed with each person, Pandora sketched out what both she and Ri wanted to see in clothing. In the end, she ended up taking three personal tailors as well as a personal thread wizard, and a clothing runes expert.

“I would like Apollo Black to work on my wizarding wear, especially my formal things. Nysa Black will take care of my casual wear, including any mugglewear I deem appropriate. And last, but certainly not least, I would like Pluto to work on some specially-designed clothing I require, with help from the others as needed and possible. And, of course, I expect everything to be spelled, and to have runes on them for protection, comfort, and silence in that order.” She dictated. Just then a couple of the Blacks from “Black Soles” entered, also from the back. This time she picked only one person to see to her footwear. In short order Pandora was measured, fitted, and finished up. She gave each tailor and the cobbler her designs, ideas, and desires for her new wardrobe and then sent them away to rest before starting work the next day.

“Is there anything else I can do for my Lady?” Mercury murmured politely. Pandora and Ri looked at the man speculatively. It may simply be because he was the first Black they’d met in this lifetime, aside from their father and godfather, but Ri felt strangely attached to him.

“Yes. Are you on the floo-list for Narcissa?” Pandora asked briskly.

“Of course, my Lady. All known Blacks are listed on Narcissa’s floo-list within twenty four hours.” He informed her.

“Good. Inform Narcissa that the new Lady Black wishes to speak to her and her husband’s family in ten minutes time. If she refuses or tries to turn you out, inform her that as she and her husband are both my vassals and more, they do not have the option of refusing. Only tell her that if she doesn’t do her duty, of course.” Pandora ordered wickedly. Mercury’s return smile was all shard Shadow Split.

“As it pleases my Lady.” He accepted with a bow before straightening and striding into the back. Only three minutes later he was back. “The Malfoys stand ready to receive their Liege Lady whenever she wishes.” Mercury informed her, one corner of his mouth twitching up into a smirk.

 _“So, Narcissa and Lucius had to be threatened into receiving the Head of the Black Family properly, hmm? Bad move on their part, since the Malfoy Family swore to serve under the House of Black in return for a marriage between Lucius and Narcissa. Not only that, but they are also vassals to me us personally through Right of Conquest. As well as both bearing a Slave Mark.”_ Pandora remarked silently to Ri. Ri nodded with a frown.

 _“Not that_ they _know that.”_ Ri pointed out wryly. Pandora waved that thought away in their mind.

“Very well, please let me know when it has been ten minutes since you informed them.” Pandora asked Mercury, who nodded and pulled his sleeve up slightly to look at his watch. In the meantime he led her to the floo. They waited until it had been (as near as Mercury could figure) exactly ten minutes since Mercury informed the Malfoys that the new Head of the Blacks would be coming, and Pandora stepped into the fireplace and out the other side into Malfoy manner. The first thing she saw was Lucius and Narcissa sitting on a small settee opposite the fireplace, jaws hanging open at the site of her.

“Close your mouths, please. It isn’t becoming to gawk like a bumpkin.” Pandora instructed briskly. Both mouths snapped shut with an almost-audible click. The two adults stood.

“Ah, I apologize, but we were expecting…?” Narcissa murmured quietly. Pandora nodded sharply.

“Yes, you were expecting us. A bit of a fluke of magic, I’m afraid, but valid nonetheless.” Pandora added wryly, presenting her ring for inspection. After both of them had tested the ring and then kissed it, Pandora introduced herself.

“My name is Lady Pandora Potter-Black-Uzumaki-Slytherin. As you are both aware of the Black Family Gift, I will tell you that I am the Shadow Split. My main is Lady Sirina ‘Ri’ Potter-Black-Uzumaki-Slytherin. We prefer, excepting on formal occasions, to go simply by Pandora and Ri respectively. Now, we three have some very important business to discuss. Fortunately, most of it can wait until morning. Some of it, however, must be dealt with tonight. Do you have a place where we can talk in absolute privacy?” Pandora outlined.

“Of course, My Lady.” Narcissa replied respectfully. Lucius Malfoy led the two ladies (or four, if one counted their splits), who walked side-by-side, to an office and parlor. After the Ladies entered, Lucius closed the door and wards snapped up around the room.

“No one can overhear now, My Lady.” Narcissa hummed. Pandora nodded.

“Very well. Best get the worst over with quickly, I suppose.” Pandora sighed. Then she sent a command down her link to both Malfoy’s Marks. Two arms bearing marks snapped into the air, their bearers looking startled. Tom’s memories flowed through Pandora and Ri’s mind, showing them what to do. Pandora moved over to Narcissa first, and with a gulp the woman drew back her sleeve. Ri glanced approvingly to Narcissa for a moment, then gently stroked a single finger over Narcissa’s Mark. The Mark shivered for a moment, and Narcissa let out a little moan of pleasure as the Mark writhed into an entirely new shape. Pandora and Ri stared in surprise down at the new form of the Mark.

In simple black lines, the form of the sign of the Deathly Hallows (the mark of the Master of Death) formed the main part of the sign. Around the two bottom edges of the triangle a Grimm peaked around the side of the triangle. With a mental shrug, Pandora repeated the process with Lucius. Lucius too made somewhat obscene noises and movements as his Mark changed. When it finished changing, his new Mark matched Narcissa’s exactly.

“When I was claiming my Ladyships,” Pandora explained with a frown “I was given the option of claiming what was once _His_ by Right of Conquest. I did not expect that to include all those with his Slave Mark. Unfortunately I cannot remove the Mark, but I can alter it slightly. I’ve done what I can to free you as much as the Mark allows. It’s not much, admittedly, but better than nothing. As you felt, I can alter the Mark so that it provides pleasure instead of pain for its most basic functions. I apologize for springing this all on you, but I’ve been developing a migraine for the past three hours while the stupid things tugged at me to change them to my personal Mark. At least that’s two fixed.” Pandora informed the two mortified Malfoys.

“Why did you need to renew them?” Narcissa asked faintly while Lucius fumed:

“It would have been better if the Marks had stayed tied to _him_ and disappeared when he died.” Pandora looked at them both seriously.

“If the Marks had still been tied to _Him_ , you would have died when he did. He worked in a clause so that if he was dying for any reason, all those bearing the Mark would donate their life energy and magic towards keeping him alive.” She informed them sharply. Both Malfoys flinched and looked away grimly.

“Now, that was the worst bit of news and business, I hope. Next, I must inform you that the unfit guardians the mad old idiot delivered me too are dead. I cannot access any of the usable properties until at least the day after tomorrow. As such, I would like you to put us up in one of you rooms for a couple days. We can discuss any other arrangements tomorrow.” Pandora’s words seemed to relieve the Malfoys somewhat.

“Of course, My Lady. Our home is always open to you.” Narcissa agreed demurely. Lucius made a face which said he dearly wished he could refuse but now realized he had no options whatsoever. Narcissa called an elf and then inquired as to Pandora and Ri’s luggage.

“Unfortunately I required an entirely new wardrobe. I was left with unsatisfactory guardians, hence their deceased state, and the clothing they gave me was not fit for rags.” Pandora growled. Narcissa nodded understandingly.

“There are several little girls’ nightgowns in storage here that will do until your custom clothing arrives, My Lady. Please, allow me to show you to your room and help prepare you for bed.” Narcissa immediately volunteered. It was clear to Ri and Pandora that now business was out of the way, Narcissa was overjoyed to have a little girl to care for. Even if only for a night or two. From the rising look of first resignation and then acceptance on Lucius’ face, he came to the same conclusion.

* * *

* * *


End file.
